CBS' March Madness coverage didn't get lots of buzzer-beaters and big upsets.

But it got lucky with getting lots of name-brand teams. And the network seems poised to do something that it's only done twice in the past decade: end up with TV ratings for the NCAA tournament that are higher than the previous year's numbers.

Through Saturday, CBS' ratings are up 9% over last year, when CBS' NCAA games averaged 5.6% of U.S. TV households. That was the lowest NCAA average ever, except for 2003 coverage, which was interrupted by Iraq war reporting.

Villanova's last-second win against Pittsburgh helped boost the overnight rating for its late-game Saturday night time slot by 6%. But TV stars North Carolina and Duke, in less compelling games, brought the real pop. Duke (losing to Villanova) got a 25% increase in its Thursday night time slot and UNC (beating Gonzaga) Friday night brought a 42% uptick.

That's why it was a no-brainer for CBS to schedule UNC (vs. Villanova) in its marquee Final Four late game, which will begin about 40 minutes after the finish of Michigan State-Connecticut, which will tip at 6:07 p.m. ET Saturday. Says CBS programmer Mike Aresco: "Duke and Carolina bring big built-in audiences to TV sets."

P.S.:

Clark Kellogg, in this season joining Jim Nantz on CBS' lead announcing team, replaced one of the most idiosyncratic analysts in TV sports — Billy Packer.

But Sunday, Kellogg showed signs that he has plenty of potential for offbeat takes himself. In Oklahoma's leaping Blake Griffin, Kellogg saw "yeast that rises and helium that floats." In North Carolina's Danny Green, Kellogg was reminded of a handy household item. Green, he said, is "as versatile as baking soda."

Earthlings, beware:

Before Sean O'Hair teed off in Sunday's Arnold Palmer Invitational with a five-stroke lead over Tiger Woods, NBC's Johnny Miller suggested O'Hair might "melt" given he was also playing with Woods. As Miller added, "he's like the sun and you're like butter."

During play, Miller went on describe Woods' putting as "outerworldly" even as it helped him win the earthly tournament. Miller's conclusion: "The guy is absolutely out of this world."

Spice rack:

Rebecca Lobo, ESPN announcer and game Twitterer, offered up this as one of her NCAA women's college basketball tournament tweets Sunday: "Shirt ironed this morning. Got out of the car and it's wrinkled. At least it's not 'stinkled' (daughter's word for stinky)." … Imagine how much better TV sports would be if everything was as open as NASCAR. On Fox's Goody's Fast Pain Relief 500, viewers eavesdropped on Jeff Gordon's car audio as Denny Hamlin passed him mid-race for the lead. Said Gordon: "If he touches me again, I'm going to knock his head off."

Tempting NBC:

Michelle Kwan, as a guest analyst on NBC's World Figure Skating Championships on Saturday night, held out hope the network's 2010 Winter Olympic coverage could get a brand name in its marquee event.

Sort of. In an interview with Bob Costas, Kwan said it was "possible" she would try an Olympic comeback. But, she then added: "I'm not training for the Olympics right now. It's not like I'm focused on the Olympics."

Media matter:

NBC's Costas, on Fox Sports Radio, suggested the need for fodder — from cable TV, radio and online outlets — drives sports discussions that don't have much to do with sports action. "There are more games and more leagues and more stories, but not enough to fill that (air) time. So a little bit of it is kind of like Hamburger Helper — you just got to spread it as much as you can." … Everything can end up on TV: Fox College Sports will air the Bradley-Old Dominion final Tuesday (8 p.m. ET) in college basketball's inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. … Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, fined $25,000 by the NBA on Sunday for a tweet criticizing NBA refs Friday, posted this Sunday: "Can't say no one makes money off Twitter now."

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